GEN News Highlights

Biosearch Eyes Europe Growth with Two Acquisitions

(Page
1
of
1)

Biosearch Technologies said today it acquired the oligonucleotide manufacturing division of Danish-owned DNA Technology and German-owned controlled-pore glass (CPG) manufacturer VitraBio, in a deal the buyer said reflected its growing commitment to Europe’s biotechnology and diagnostic markets. Prices for both acquisitions were undisclosed.

Biosearch, headquartered in Novato, CA, said the deals would benefit the company by adding a production team with a mature quality system; supplying an established European customer base focused in the continent’s Nordic countries; growing the company’s European sales, production, and regulated contract manufacturing capabilities; and providing manufacturing redundancy for its North American operations.

Until now, Biosearch has done business in northern Europe through a pair of distributors. BioCat has represented Biosearch in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, while Bio-Mediator has represented the company in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

Founded in 1993, privately-held Biosearch designs, develops, and manufactures oligonucleotide-based tools. They include fluorophores such as the CAL Fluor®, Quasar® and Pulsar® dyes; and dark quenchers such as the Black Hole Quencher® dyes. The dyes are included in custom-synthesized probe formats for real-time, quantitative PCR, Stellaris® RNA FISH, and other genomic-based applications.

Biosearch’s dual acquisitions come less than a year after the company bought a 120,480-square-foot office/industrial building in Petaluma, CA, for $7 million and disclosed plans to expand operations there by shifting from Novato some 90 administrative and production staffers. At the time, the company had about 120 employees in two 30,000-square-foot Novato buildings, as well as annual sales of around $30 million, according to a North Bay Business Journal report from August 2012.

VitraBio, founded in 2003, manufactures CPG routinely used in solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis. Biosearch gains control over VitraBio’s CPG manufacturing technology and production facility in Steinach, Germany, which will expand its repertoire of oligo synthesis tools and processes.

In addition to continuing VitraBio’s production of DNA/RNA synthesis support products for the research and therapeutic oligo markets, Biosearch said, it intends to supplement its existing production of specialty amidites and modified CPGs in the U.S. by bringing chemical manufacturing capabilities to VitraBio’s Steinach facility.

The acquisition will enable DNA Technology, a producer of custom-manufactured synthetic oligonucleotides in Nordic countries, to expand production capabilities and product offerings through full access to Biosearch’s specialty modifications, manufacturing tools, and IP portfolio. Founded in 1992, DNA Technology is headquartered in Risskov, Denmark.

Jobs

GEN Jobs powered by HireLifeScience.com connects you directly to employers in pharma, biotech, and the life sciences. View 40 to 50 fresh job postings daily or search for employment opportunities including those in R&D, clinical research, QA/QC, biomanufacturing, and regulatory affairs.

Be sure to take the GEN Poll

Climate Change

How would you describe the researchers response to the 2°C global temperature target?

They are right on the mark. A 2°C global temperature rise will push us further over the edge. We have to set a lower target.

A 2°C global temperature rise is a reasonable target on which to focus in order to diminish the impact of climate change.

We have already gone beyond the threshold for getting a handle on climate change. So now we just need to learn how to adapt to the inexorable climatic changes with which we will have to deal going forward.

They are right on the mark. A 2°C global temperature rise will push us further over the edge. We have to set a lower target.

38.9%

A 2°C global temperature rise is a reasonable target on which to focus in order to diminish the impact of climate change.

22.2%

We have already gone beyond the threshold for getting a handle on climate change. So now we just need to learn how to adapt to the inexorable climatic changes with which we will have to deal going forward.

If you have any questions about your subscription, click
hereto email us or call at (914) 740-2189.

You may also be interested in subscribing to the GEN magazine, an indispensable
resource for everyone involved in the business of translating discoveries at the
bench into solutions that fight disease and improve health, agriculture, and the
environment. Subscribe
today to see why over 60,000 biotech professionals read GEN to
keep current in the areas of genomics, proteomics, drug discovery, biomarker discovery,
bioprocessing, molecular diagnostics, collaborations, biotech business trends, and
more.